Blaze of Glory
by Celtic Ember
Summary: THIS STORY IS COMPLETE When the battle comes to Hogwarts, what will be left? Who will go on? And what is everyone thinking about during what could be the last moments of thier lives?
1. Fearless Hearts

A/N- I have no idea where this fic came from. I'm in an angst mood. I may or may not post this. I hope you enjoy it. Warning, tissue alert, there is a lot of character death in this fic. This is a semi sequel to On the Eve of Adulthood.  
  
Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep. She stood there, looking across the distance, looking at something only she could see. She was looking back in time, and was waiting for something. No one knew. Everyone thought that she had learned to deal with it. After all, he was never really hers. Not in the way the others were. But she missed him. Even now, over thirty years later, she missed him. She missed him and the three who had died with him, along with so many others that day. She had once been part of a large family. No longer. Not as large as it should be, anyway.  
  
I am the thousand winds that blow; I am the diamond glint on snow.  
  
He was so young, when she first saw him. He was just another little boy going to Hogwarts. He got on the train with Ron, and she didn't see him again. Not until the summertime, when he came to visit. Oh, she heard about him. Ron's letters were always packed. And she nearly had a fit when she heard that he was Ron's best friend. When that happened, he became hers. He just didn't know it yet. And on days like this, she could almost hear him talking, a light tenor to match the other voices in the house. His laughter. She had only heard it a precious few times. The boy had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the man succumbed to destiny. It hurt.  
  
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.  
  
He was always so sure of himself. Or so he liked to appear. No one knew except her about his few moments of weakness, and of indecision. He had cried on her shoulder, and she had tried to comfort him. It was awkward, but eventually the tears would dry, and he would go back to bed. Only once did it not work. Only once did it not happen quite like that. It had started out normal enough. And then he had one his nightmares, and the cool grey light of false dawn met him on the porch. He possessed the face of a man. He had the gift and the curse of seeing his godfather die, of hearing his last words, words of love to himself. And the boy was gone, and a man replaced him. Tears were no more.  
  
When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush of the quite birds in circled flight.  
  
She should be mourning the ones that were really hers, she thought dully. And she did- every single moment that the places at the table were not sat in, she felt a twist in her heart. Every time she looked at the men that were left, their visages haunted by the past, she mourned the ones who would never come home again. But one day they would join those lost, and all would sit together again. She went upstairs once, and wandered into their rooms. She had sat in Ron's the longest. Stroking faded Chudley Cannon's posters, staring bitterly at the corner where Scabbers's cage used sit. Ron being himself, he had pitched it out as soon as he found out who the rat really was. They were still there, she thought sometimes. Still near her. She could only hope that when her time came, they would be there to meet her.  
  
I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry.  
  
Molly looked at the hill where her children sat so long ago. Where Ron had proposed to Hermione, and where Harry had bared his soul only a few months before the end. Where Ginny had come running in from after hearing the bittersweet letters, crying for the need of comfort at the thought of having no parents. She chuckled, although it was not a pleasant sound. She remembered consoling her daughter, explaining it was the way of things for parents to die, and for children to carry on. It was humans way of grasping immortality. Yes, it was the normal way of things. But it wasn't what happened that time. Her babies, and her adopted babies, were gone. Long ago, now. Weasley red hair had populated Hogwarts again, and was currently starting on yet another round. But there should have been more. Far, far more then what there was. Voldemort had claimed the two youngest. Harry had claimed Voldemort in retribution, and the final effort consumed him. He too, was gone. Ginny, bleeding all her power as one of the most powerful sorceresses in this century to back the powerful curse Harry needed burnt out and died with him. They had only found each other a few weeks before.  
  
She shook her head once more, this time to clear the images of the babies she had raised laying lifeless on the ground. She still could not remove the image of a dark haired boy and a red haired girl, arms entwined on the ground.  
  
Silver trails ran down wizened cheeks, and she started as someone came up behind her. "Tears, Mum?" The gentle voice asked. The very same words he had asked those many years ago, when he tried so desperately not to admit how much he was hurting. "I don't want to believe it's been thirty years. Today. They celebrate. But why? We lost, Percy. We lost." Her serious son held her as her sobs racked her body. As she quieted, he spoke soothingly to her, pointing out the stars that were slowly emerging from the sky.  
  
"The kids are up there, mum. We'll see them when it's our time. Would they want you to be this sad?" She just looked at him, and he sighed. Obviously, this wasn't going to work this time. It never did. She had to work this out on her own.  
  
"Come to bed, Mum. Penny and the kids need me at home. Astor is visiting, and he's bringing a girl home." Molly wrapped her now frail arms around him and gave him a bone cracking hug. She smoothed a bit of the once bright hair from his temple, privately marvelling at the grey streaks starting to touch it. He would be OK. They all would.  
  
She settled into sleep for the last time, a smile on her lips as she rejoined her youngest babies at last. She would be waiting for the others along with them.  
  
I am not there. I did not die. 


	2. Phoenix Fire

Disclaimer: See Prologue.  
  
A/N- Massive thanks to Ami, who has taken the time to edit this and make gentle suggestions when I got carried away, as well as patiently waiting until I regained the internet. This has graphic character death and a multitude of pagan references, just as a warning to the squeamish of you.  
  
I miss him. Goddess, do I miss him. The messy black hair, the sharp look in his eyes. I don't know what's happening out there. All I can hear is the screaming-there's so much of it. There is no way to distinguish one voice from a hundred others. I can't believe that the battle is here. Dungeons.  
  
Why did I have to hide in the dungeons? I'm the most powerful witch in the school. No one can match my raw power. Hermione may know more, but not even she can put out the raw energy that I can. I need to go help. The screams are getting louder. I can't just sit here and wait for them to find us. It's only a matter of time before that scum invading our school and our lives finds their way down here, anyway.  
  
We're putting too much on him-we always have. It seems to be in our nature since he never protests. There is no way that he can defeat the worst Dark wizard in a millennium by himself. Voldemort has gone through so many transformations, so many dangerous power moves. Harry will be defeated easily if they don't come get me. After all, he's an ordinary boy. He escaped once- escaped to here. Now that they've gotten here, where can he hide? There is nowhere left for any of us to run. Goddess! What's going on? I have to pull myself together. Someone is running down here. Could the fighters have been breached?  
  
No, it's a girl. Probably a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff, since I don't recognize her. Although, she does look familiar. Wait a second- that's Hermione! She looks so different- there's something wild in her eyes. What's running down her face? Is that blood? It's almost savagely beautiful- a thin trickle of scarlet is pouring down from a small cut underneath her eye. She's heading towards me. I know what she's going to ask -the same thing that we all asked of Harry. The only reason she would possibly be down here instead of fighting would be because Harry sent her to fetch me. I can't. I'm not ready. For Merlin's sake, I'm only sixteen. I'm not an adult, even by wizard law. That's too young for anyone to die. We're all too young to die- but how many already have? I can't stay here being selfish. I found the spell. Now we need to use it. She doesn't need to ask. I stand, and those searching eyes measure me up. I nod once, answering her unspoken question and she squares her shoulders as a feral grin spreads across her face. I'm reminded of a cougar instead of my more then slightly bookish best friend.  
  
She's talking in a fast voice that takes me back to her berating Ron and Harry right before a Potions test. The memory makes me smile, and she looks at me strangely.  
  
"Wands out, naturally. They've hit most of the Hufflepuffs and over half of the Ravenclaws. We still have five Gryffindors, or did the last I saw. For all I know, everyone could be dead up there. Unforgivables are necessary. They won't hesitate to use them, and neither are we. It's fast and dirty up there. And we are definitely losing. Take them out quickly and cleanly and then move on.  
  
I look at her in shock. Five Gryffindors? But there were eight. who's already dead? What person's death would drive Hermione to using unforgivable curses? Not Ron. Please, not Ron. No, she would have told me if it was Ron. Neville, then- it must have been Neville. Hermione always did have a bit of a soft spot for him. I feel horrible. I don't want anyone dead, but if someone has to be, I'm glad it isn't my brother. Please, Brighid, don't let it be my brother. Artemis will keep him safe for me.  
  
We walk cautiously up the stairways, our wands out and ready. I follow Hermione. She knows these passageways better then most, and in no time we are near the great hall entrance.  
  
I look around, not thinking about what a distinctive target my bright red hair must make. Hermione jerks me back out of the way just as a curse whizzes by. All I can think of is getting in there to help. The floor is littered with bodies- so many bodies.  
  
"Are you crazy? I didn't leave the fight and stop watching Harry's back just to have you killed as soon as you got up the stairs. Honestly!" She muttered glamour, and my glory became a very unremarkable and inconspicuous brown. I smile at her, and receive that dangerous feral grin back.  
  
"Shall we go rescue the men?" I ask gaily, attempting to cover my fear.  
  
"I think so." She replies, and we wade into the fray.  
  
You would think we were heading into nothing worse then Potions class, the way we are acting. Oops, no more Potions class. The body I just stepped over was Professor Snape. I think I'm hysterical, but I'm no longer shaking in fear. They will know that I'm here soon enough. The raw power of the stunning I'm putting out will keep them knocked out so deep that they may as well have taken the draught of living death. I can't bring myself to cast an unforgivable. No spell or potion will wake them, anyway. Why take a life? I fight my way up to Harry, my love and knight in shining armor. Right now that armor is being blood spattered, and it isn't fair. He shouldn't have had to grow up yet.  
  
Hermione is right behind me. I still haven't seen Ron. I look around frantically as this thought hits my synapses. Where could he be, that he isn't at Harry's side? Why didn't he come and fetch me? Wait a minute, he doesn't know! I never had the chance to tell him we will win. I start to scan the ground, fear of finding him in the gruesome carpet of corpses lodged in my heart. There he is! He's locked in a battle with Lucius Malfoy. Draco's motionless body is on the ground between them. I lose my second innocence right there, the one I worked so hard to regain after the chamber. I raise my wand and kill my family's mortal enemy.  
  
"Avada Kedavra," I scream, and the flash of green light hits him squarely between the eyes. He crumples, never knowing that the little girl he tried to kill finally bested him. Ron stumbles a bit, and comes running over to us.  
  
"Ginny? What in Hades do you think that you're doing? You should be staying safe!"  
  
" Farathoom, Ron, do you really think that I can stay safe while my friends are all dying?" I scream back. I look up in horror, and throw a curse at the pale faced ex-Slytherin that had been feigning death. He's started to stand up, and his wand is pointed at my brother. The expression on his face is sickening, of hatred and glee as the death shoots out of his wand.  
  
I was too late. He had already muttered the fateful words.  
  
"Duck, Ron! Duck!" I scream, knowing it was futile. My favourite brother crumples to the ground in front of me. Hermione starts wailing, screaming at the top of her lungs. I thought it was a lament, a horrible cry at watching her love die, but then I realize that she is being tortured. I try to block it, but once again, I am too late. Another flash of sickly light, and she is gone too. My brother and my almost sister are dead, in front of my horrified eyes, in less then a minute. I know that I will soon be joining them. At least they are together, I think, and then my own world erupts into fiery hell. I curse my distraction. Can't let that happen again, no matter who dies in front of me. Using a trick Dumbledore had hoped I'd never need, I throw it off. (Hey, I'm not the most powerful witch of my generation for nothing.) Harry looks at me with misery and amazement in his eyes. I shoot him a grin, but it doesn't calm me down. Anger blazes, and starts to roll like a firestorm in dry brush. I can feel my power building. Harry is also heading into a berserker rage after watching his two best friends fall. He turns to me, and I can see sheer, raw power snapping in his eyes. Mine reflect his. I walk over to him, and take his hand. A curse is being shot from somewhere. I'm not aware if it hits us or not. Our power melds, and starts to flow though both of us. I can feel it travelling, tingling. Some vague part of my mind knows that I won't get out of this alive. I also don't care. I look over at Harry. The misery in his eyes isn't allowed  
  
"I love you, Harry. I'll see you in the Summerlands. ," I say, not recognizing my own voice through the focussed power. No regrets, no longing for might-have-been. There isn't the time or the need. But still.  
  
"Love you too, Ginny. We'll meet up with Ron and Hermione soon." I can tell by the steadiness in his voice that he, too knows the only outcome of what we are about to do. Still, the reassurance steadies me.  
  
The hall goes deathly silent as we begin to glow. All activity stops. I recognize several familiar bodies on the ground. Neville. Dean. Ron, his red hair drying with coagulated blood, lying in a puddle. I will see them all soon. Voldemort, that foul slime, is walking up the space between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. He has no place here. We stand there, glowing. I think we're making him nervous.  
  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He screams at us. Why am I not afraid? That is bright, speeding death. As if one mind Harry and I utter the spell that will kill him. The same spell that will kill us with it, for it requires so much raw power that we will burn out. We no longer care. This is our destiny.  
  
"REVERSI DESTRUCTO," we shout together. United. The raw outlet shoves me into his arms. I can feel the strength burning out of me, but I keep my wand held high. The glamour had died with Hermione, and my hair is blazing as bright as the blood red sunset that this battle began with. The last sunset of so many lives, I reflect grimly as I hold on. The silver light fights with the green. We concentrate, and fire even more power into the stream. I can hear my brothers, Bill and Charlie yell as they enter the battlefield. They are too late. Goodbye! My heart cries to them. It's almost as if they answer back. Their horrified faces seem to speak more eloquently then anything as they realize what has happened. Things are starting to fade, even as they get brighter. Harry is not slackening. I can feel him starting to burn out in the back of my mind. We are both too far gone to save. A hideous high pitched wail echoes as our spell starts to do its job. I give one last shot of power, just to make sure. That's all I have left.  
  
My body falls to the floor, intertwined with Harry's. He falls with me. I'm floating.  
  
Bright. And pale. What is that tunnel? Is that Ron? And Hermione. And so many others. Harry takes my hand, and speaks to me. We walk over to our friends. We've arrived then. Goodbye. I love you all. I'll meet you in the Summerlands. We won. We finally won. 


	3. Phoenix March

A/N- This starts further back in the evening, from Harry's point of view. There's more to him then meets the eye. But will anyone but Ginny ever know that?  
  
  
  
I know what is happening even as McGonagall comes striding into the common room, not subjecting herself to the indignity of going through the portrait hole. Our time has come. The battle we have all been expecting for weeks has finally started. I don't know if I'm relieved or merely glad that the waiting is over. It seems so dull and wearing waiting for the inevitable.  
  
I know this has to happen. My scar has been growing steadily more and more painful over the last few weeks, a sure sign that Voldemort is getting ready for a decisive battle. Two hours ago, Ron held me down while Hermione poured one of her special pain relieving agents down my throat so that I would stop flinching every time someone shouted. Those two are so overprotective. I know that I wouldn't want them to be any other way.  
  
Now I can function properly and think clearly for the first time since this battle began to build. Hermione was right- I am far better off being able to fight then punishing myself with my scar. Hermione is always right it seems. That is, except when she claimed that she had no feelings for Ron. I'm glad that sorted itself out, all though it doesn't really matter now.  
  
I'm hoping that duelling me will satisfy Voldemort- that he won't bring his Death Eaters into the school. At least we don't need to worry about spies. All those with Voldemort leanings, suspected or proven, were asked to leave. Dumbledore hated to do it in the end, but we needed a stronghold. He wasn't wrong in any case. I have to wonder, though, how many were pushed into that decision by their expulsion. Needless to say, there are very few Slytherins left.  
  
I change my attention back to the common room. Ron and Hermione are holding each other close, sitting on a comfy armchair together and calmly accepting what both of them know. McGonagall has gone to fetch everyone from the dorms. As it is one thirty in the morning, most of the lower years are asleep. Ginny, her scarlet hair flying, comes tumbling into the portrait hole, the books she has in her arms go flying. She seizes one, and shoves it at me. I catch Hermione looking worriedly at her from the corner of my eye. I dismiss it as my love begins to speak.  
  
"Harry, look at this! We can defeat him. We can get rid of him for good! But.there is a catch." I can tell from the tone of her voice that she doesn't like what she's telling me. I look at the book that she's holding. Sure enough, there is a spell that will overpower a single great evil completely. However, it requires raw magical power in pure form to power it. Whoever finishes the spell will die, and it takes one male and one female to perform it. I look into those chocolate eyes and am lost for a minute. I shake my head.  
  
I smile at her, a cross between a warrior's bloodlust and reassurance that must look very odd.  
  
"We have him, love," I say, and she smiles back.  
  
"It may not come to this. We may get him anyway, " she reassures me. We both know that isn't the case, but it's nice to pretend for a little while.  
  
McGonagall is calling for our attention. We sit back, and listen as she gives the instructions. As expected, sixth year students are escorting the rest of the younger years to the dungeons. Ginny, as Head Girl designate, will lead them. We seventh years will go to join the teachers. As everyone quietly starts moving, a feeling of inevitability overwhelms me. This is it. I give my love one last hug, one last kiss. I want to bury myself in her hair and never let go. But I can't. She gently disentangles herself from me.  
  
"I have to go. Send Hermione for me when you need me, " she says quietly. I nod. We both know it's when, not if. I give her one last squeeze, and brush a lone tear of her cheek.  
  
"We've only had three weeks. It's not fair," she whispers. I look away, unable to take the brilliance in her eyes. She's right. It isn't fair. None of this has been fair.  
  
"No, but we'll have eternity," I vow, and she smiles again. I can feel my heart crack and bruise. How I wish we had had longer! That doesn't matter now, I try to tell myself. But it does matter- more then I will ever admit to anyone, even myself.  
  
She has a serene smile on her face as she ushers the terrified looking first years through the portrait hole. And she is smiling as she, too, disappears. I cannot tell whether it was bravado or merely acceptance of what is to come. I can only hope that I can face this battle the same way.  
  
Our last peaceful moments are over. I turn reluctantly away from the portrait hole as Colin Creevy, the last one through closes it behind him. Professor McGonagall eyes me with understanding. Wordlessly, the remaining Gryffindors follow her through the hidden staircase that she used when she came to gather us.  
  
We know that most of us will not be back. How could we not, with the level of killing that takes place every time a raid is staged? But it just isn't right, dammit! We shouldn't have to be old enough to know these things. We're not even out of school! But then, neither was Cedric. At least we have some warning before we see death. He had none. We have lived for every moment, every experience. Or we have tried to.  
  
I am leading us out, right behind McGonagall. Ron and Hermione, wands ready but holding each other's hands. They are right behind me, the way they have always been. Seamus and Dean, Pavarti and Lavender and Neville. I turn and look into Ron's eyes. He nods, just once. We have been through these fights before. Strangely, we are not afraid. I'm actually strangely excited- I'm finally ready, able and willing to complete the path my mother set me on sixteen years ago. Perhaps it's just the adrenaline now coursing through my system, but I'm glad that I'll be able to see her soon.  
  
I can hear Hermione reciting obscure curses on the shady side of legal under her breath. She had been tutoring Lavender and Pavarti in survival while they tutored her on how to deal with boys. She needed it, with the way Ron tended to become a stammering prat anytime he got anywhere near last year. I think reassuring herself makes her feel better. I smile as she recites the curse to make genitals fall off. Not like it will do much good, but at least it has some shock value.  
  
We finally arrive in the Great Hall. I can see most of the Ravenclaws with Flitwick, fidgeting as they accept instructions. Fear is written on every face. The Hufflepuffs are just entering as we do. Ernie MacMillan is sheltering Hannah Abbot the best that he can. I suspected that she might be pregnant- now I'm sure. Madam Pomfery is bustling over to them. Now she's leading a very distraught looking Hannah away, towards the dungeons. Ernie looks forlorn. Well, at least one person from our year will survive this. I'm not so sure about everyone else.  
  
The few Slytherin seventh years that have not been kicked out are standing near the Ravenclaws, looking nervous but determined. I can see Blaise Zabini talking to Padma Patil. The doors boom. The slower, stupider part of me realises that we have less time then I thought.  
  
I notice that the giant, ornate doors have been locked the whole time. Part of my brain shouts 'well, obviously.' I can't believe that I didn't notice that! As if they would just leave the doors open as an invitation to destroy us. So much for my hope of Voldemort calling me out and leaving the school alone. The locks don't matter anyway- the door is splintering under the multitudes of spells hitting it. I can see the sickly light of the Killing Curse shining already. One is tossed my way. They aren't even through the door yet!  
  
"Ron, do something about you're hair! It's a walking target!" I shout as I notice what they're aiming at. Ron whips around, and Hermione casts a Glamour on it to turn it an unremarkable brown. She nods, and then we no longer have time for rational thought. Death Eaters are pouring in. Hermione attempts to cast one over me, as well, but I shake it off. "Use your energy on something else!" I tell her, and dash a stunning spell off. I don't stop to see whether or not it hits someone. I shoot another, and then another. I whip around, and see Neville writhing underneath a curse. I see the same Death Eater I saw in Dumbledore's pensieve, the one that was caught for torturing his parents. Before I can stop her, she stops, and then I hear the terrible words. "Avada Kedavra, she shouts with a sadistic smile. Neville, completely brain damaged, dies in a flash of light.  
  
"Like mother, like son," I hear her say to a man fighting beside her. His grin sickens me to the core.  
  
I look, and see Hermione. She has seen and heard it too. In agreement, we simultaneously cast the curse ourselves.  
  
"Avada Kedavra" we shout, and the two don't see us until it's far too late. Heads on both sides whip around at the sound of my voice shouting that curse. I shake my head. I've had to take a life. I'm no better then they are. My eyes are drawn to the sight of Neville's mangled corpse, and I change my mind. I do what I have to do. They kill for the pure joy of it.  
  
"Bloody well time, Potter!" I hear someone shout, and very quickly BOTH sides are using the Unforgivables. Apparently, I am a leader here, whether or not I want to be.  
  
I see Ron fighting with Nott, and I cast another one. The fighting grows more bloody, more furious. No matter how many curses I throw, how many people I fell, there is always someone else to take his or her place in the throng. I recognise ex-Slytherins, yes, but also ex-Ravenclaws, and ex-Hufflepuffs. It heartens me to see no Gryffindors in capes, with skull tattoos on their arms, but I may just not have spotted them yet. Ron is flying through, casting hexes, curses and Unforgivables. I can see a pattern in his fighting, a definitive method that is leaving a trail of bodies behind him. I see McNair aiming for Sally-Anne Perks. She doesn't see him, she's dueling someone else with typical Ravenclaw formality. I catch him with a stunner powerful to knock out an elephant. One minion down, several hundred more to go. I whip around to see Hermione, a small cut bleeding down her cheek. I point at it.  
  
"Shrapnel curse." She shrugged, not really bothered by it. Then her eyes darken with rage.  
  
"Bastards have gotten Pavarti and Padma," she commented viciously, and I looked to see Gryffindor red and Ravenclaw blue on the floor, dark hair strewn over it.  
  
"Damn them to Hades!" I swear, and see another Ravenclaw fall. I look around for more of my year mates. Most of them are on the floor. Malfoy the younger has Blaise Zabini under Imperius- I can see her struggling against it. That's right- they used to date before he was kicked out. I toss a stunner her way, and she hits the ground. Now that she looks dead, maybe they won't kill her. He leaves to find a new toy.  
  
We're losing. There must be three hundred Death Eaters in here. There is no way we're going to get rid of them all.  
  
"Ron! Behind you!" I shout, and he ducks and rolls out of the way. A severing charm ricochets and hits a lump I'm assuming is Crabbe Jr. He yelps, and Ron takes out three more. My best friend has been in the thick of things. Can't send him to get Ginny. I have to do that spell. Damn, it's going to kill us both! I was hoping that one of us was going to get out of here alive. It's not to be. Railing at fate, I roll over to Hermione.  
  
"Hermione, go get Ginny." She snaps her head around to look at me, her eyes uncomprehending.  
  
"That book? It has the spell I'm going to use. She knows it, I don't. I need her." Finally, the light dawns in those hard amber eyes, and they soften for a moment. She knows what we are about to do.  
  
"You knew about the spell," I state, dodging a curse.  
  
"I knew. I hoped it wouldn't come to that." She shakes her head. "We have no time. Don't you dare die while I'm not watching your back, Potter." I have to grin at that. She looks startled at the humour on my face. "It's not funny." She shoots a curse over my shoulder. I hear a scream. I was wondering if she would ever get around to using that curse.  
  
"I'll try," I promise.  
  
I watch my blood sister dash out of the main fighting. Most of it seems to be contained to the Great Hall. The teachers and reinforcements are covering the entrances. They let Hermione through. As she's leaving, I watch as Dean falls. Malfoy picks him off the floor, and shouts "Mudblood!" before using a severing charm on his throat. I see Hermione flinch as she disappears.  
  
I hate being so helpless! I toss another stunner, hitting someone in the back. They fall- Artemis! That was Roger Davies! No doubt to his side- the Dark Mark is blazing on his arm. I feel numb as I continue the fight. Roger and Cedric had been friends, and year mates. I find myself wondering why he would have turned? He even dated Cho after she had gotten over Cedric. No time to wonder. It doesn't matter anyway. Refocusing, I turn back to the battle. Aim, curse, new target. Repeat a thousand times.  
  
What's taking Hermione so long? Shouldn't she and Ginny be back by now? It feels like a thousand years have passed since I sent her. More then one life has been snuffed between then and now.  
  
Aha! I see a flash of red at one of the doors. So did someone else- that was the Killing Curse! Did it get her? Where are they? Did it hit Hermione instead? I need to know that the hell is going on!  
  
I see my blood sister running back into the fray, the blood on her cheek looking like primitive war paint. Ginny is behind her, but her hair is disguised. That was what took them so long! Marry me, I want to shout at her. No point in asking her now. We know that I wouldn't have called her if we were going to survive this. Ginny is tossing stunning spells out with enough force to knock out half of Muggle London. I see her jump a body as she pounds the ground, heading towards me with desperate speed.  
  
I watch as my love's face hardens to marble. Her normally expressive features. She knows what we need to do. I smile at her, but she doesn't notice. Her face is horrified as she watches her brother struggle with Lucius Malfoy. I watch her grow up completely as she casts her first Unforgivable curse. He drops, and Ron comes sprinting over to us.  
  
"Ginny? What in Hades do you think you're doing? You should be safe!" he shouts at her. He's in a rage, and I can see the adrenalin in his eyes.  
  
"Farathoom, Ron, do you really think that I can stay safe while you all are dying?" she screams back, her redheaded temper getting the best of her. Then I see her eyes widen, and she shouts the killing curse.  
  
"Duck, Ron, duck!" she bellows. A few brief seconds of understanding is all I'm granted before seeing my arch enemy die. I turn to rejoice about it with Ron, only to see his limp body fallen to the ground. I look for Hermione, hoping she didn't see him die. Needing the comfort from the small shake of her head. All I can think is not Ron. Of course that wasn't Ron. Look, he has brown hair. Not red. It isn't Ron.  
  
I hear more screaming, and whip around. Hermione is writhing the same way Neville was. I look frantically for her assailant, but I can't find the bastard! Where is he? Too late, she goes limp and life flees from her eyes. The two people I swore with my lifeblood to protect have both been ripped from me. I will avenge them! My heart is screaming in pain. It hurts more then my scar did before they force-fed me that potion.  
  
No! They can't be dead! We are the Trinity, damn it! We are supposed to be unbreakable, everlasting. If we die, we die together. We vowed that when we swore to each other by blood. That crimson liquid is being spilled far too often right now. Ron is lying in a pool of swiftly cooling blood, the Glamour on his hair dead with its caster. Hermione, lying on the cold stone floor, the red streak down her face a testament to her bravery.  
  
Ginny! She is still here. I see the sheer pain and temper written on her face. Then she too starts to writhe before throwing it off. I look at her in amazement. No one can throw off an Unforgivable that easily. Most wizards can't even throw off the Imperius Curse. She gives me a cocky grin that lights her face with a small amount of humour. I can see acceptance and sheer power snapping in her eyes, and I remember the times that those beautiful big brown eyes have melted my heart. I'm going to die. But so is she. What right do I have to do this to her?  
  
She speaks, pulling me out of my pit. Her power is already building, I can feel it, sense it. But then, so is mine. My body accepts even as my mind struggles with what we are about to do.  
  
"I love you, Harry. See you in the Summerlands, " she says with a small grin.  
  
"Love you too, Ginny. We'll meet up with Ron and Hermione soon." I barely see anything going on, and take the time to remember my life for a moment. I see my mother, hear her screams and her songs. I remember the Dursleys, and my Hogwarts letter. I remember the Weasleys. I think of Ron and Hermione, and all the crazy, mixed up adventures we got into. Most of all, I remember Ginny. I clear my head, satisfied that I have done my best. I would have liked longer, but obviously it was not to be.  
  
My voice and hands steady, we turn. I don't know how I know it is time, but I know that figure. Tom Marvolo Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, is walking into the room and surveying the carnage with a sadistic smile.  
  
Ginny and I are melding, focussing, as he strides towards us. We are more like two halves of the same person by now. We start to glow, and I sense somewhere that the fighting in the rest of the room has stopped. He looks nervous. Good, he should be.  
  
Before he even reaches us, he stops. A smile twists across his face, his red eyes still look jittery. His shout cuts through the air.  
  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" I'm not afraid. After all, my own spell will kill me. But it will also kill him. Less then a split second later, Ginny and I cry out in one voice her eleventh hour find.  
  
"REVERSI DESTRUCTO!" We cry, and our voices meld with our power. It hits Voldemort's spell dead on, and begins to battle it. I barely note the dead silence around us. The silver light erupting from our wands starts to drain instantaneously. I can feel the spell burn its way up my arms, and the reservoir of power unchecked that I have always been half-aware of begins to empty. I hang on, as Ginny does even as the sheer force throws her into my arms. I tighten my other arm around her as we continue to throw everything we have or might have been into the spell. Through the haze I see two more red heads come bursting in, at the front of a large amount of reinforcements. They are too late. I feel pity as Bill and Charlie are forced to watch their sister die. I'm going with her, and they are not. At least she's going in a blaze of glory, with her beautiful hair starkly contrasting with my robes and her entire body glowing. She is so beautiful it makes my heart hurt. Maybe that will bring some comfort to them.  
  
I'm almost empty. The energy that was so much a part of me is almost gone, leaving me a husk. My soul is starting to free itself from my body. Slowly, I concentrate on forcing my last bit of energy out of my wand. One last shot. The energy shapes itself into a phoenix, and Voldemort crumples, emitting a high pitch scream of agony as he returns to dust. I smile, and hold Ginny tight. One last time, I bury my face in those crimson locks. I feel my soul completely free itself.  
  
Wait. That's a light. Is it a tunnel? There are so many people.  
  
Light. Ginny. I hold her hand. She seems brighter and strong once again.  
  
Goodbye, all. I've gone home.  
  
I'll see you when it's your time.  
  
Smiling, I look down at the redhead, her hand attached to mine.  
  
"See love? We have Eternity," I say to her, a smile on my face. I know the battle is far from over. But my part and her part are now over. I look up, and see another redhead walking towards me. I know I am finally home. 


	4. Phoenix Fury

A/N- This is Hermione's story. She knows things that the others didn't. But really, knowing Hermione, is that a surprise?  
  
I sit here, watching him flinch, and wishing I were strong enough to force- feed him the pain-killing potion I made. He needs it so badly, and yet refuses to take it. He thinks that we don't know that he considers it his penance for the deaths that have occurred and he was powerless to stop. He thinks that he's got us all fooled- Ron, Ginny and I. But he doesn't. The constant pain warns us that Voldemort is growing ever nearer and we are going to need him in fighting condition. Yet, even that argument will not convince him. It is time for drastic measures.  
  
I casually wander over to where Ron is sitting, attempting to stay engrossed in a game of chess. I can tell his mind isn't on it. He's playing against Neville, and he's losing. Ron hasn't lost a chess game since we started Hogwarts. I almost leave him, thinking a humbling might do him some good, but he needs all of his confidence now.  
  
I drag him away from the game, and pull him into a hidden corner of the common room.  
  
"We need to help Harry," I say quietly.  
  
Ron looks over to where our best friend is sitting, pale and withdrawn. His scar stands out livid on his forehead, a testament to everything that we are fighting.  
  
"I know. The question is, how? He won't stop blaming himself. We've tried everything from cajoling to screaming. He won't listen." I nod. It's true. He sits there and smiles at us, listening politely, and then goes right on thinking exactly what he wants to.  
  
"It's time to do something drastic. Can you hold him down?" I ask, getting to my original idea. Ron smiles at me.  
  
"I like the way you think, love," he says, a ghost of a twinkle in his beautiful blue eyes. "Go get out the potion, I'll bring him up to your room."  
  
"Meet you there in five," I respond. I give him a quick kiss, and run up the stairs. I can feel Harry's eyes on my back as I make my way out of sight.  
  
I go into the room they gave me when they made me Head Girl. It is one of the very few benefits for an exhausting job. Harry, too, feels the pressure. With Voldemort coming, Dumbledore told him he couldn't see appointing anyone but Harry as Head Boy. What made this more unusual was that Harry wasn't even a prefect until sixth year, when Voldemort really began to make his rise known. Ron and I had been appointed the prefects for Gryffindor for our year. With Harry as Quidditch captain, no one wanted to put even more responsibility onto his uncomplaining shoulders.  
  
I move swiftly across my room, and head towards the shelf that I keep my potions on. I find the small vial full of pale purple liquid and secret it in my robe sleeve. I can hear Harry and Ron coming up the stairs, discussing strategy. I know that Ginny has been spending all her free time in the library, looking for a spell that will defeat Voldemort. I'm hoping she finds one other then the one I was able to locate. If she finds that one, there will be no stopping her or Harry from sacrificing themselves for everyone else.  
  
There just outside my room. I can hear Harry hesitate as Ron walks in.  
  
"Are you decent?" he calls before entering the room. Ron and I laugh. Last summer, Harry inadvertently walked in on me after following Ron into Ginny's room. He has very carefully avoided repeating the experience.  
  
"Perfectly, " I say, and he cautiously walks into the room. I signal Ron, and he pounces on him. Dumbledore had added a permanent magical shield to Harry's arsenal of protections, so a mere stunning spell wouldn't stand a chance. We need to do this the old fashioned way.  
  
Harry struggles as Ron sits on him. His hands are pinned above his head, and he glares at the both of us. I pull out the potion.  
  
"Damn it, I told you two I'm fine!" he swears at us.  
  
"Of course you are. That's why you flinch every time there's a loud noise," Ron says sarcastically.  
  
"Or bright light, or come to think of it, really anything out of the ordinary at all," I note. "Face it, Harry. You are drinking this potion, and you have no say," I tell him, my voice smug. Harry clamps his mouth shut in defiance.  
  
"Oh, please," Ron sighs disgustedly, and plugs Harry's nose. As soon as he opens his mouth to breathe, I pour the potion down the back of his throat. Almost instantly, the distended scar becomes smooth, and Harry's face is no longer drawn. Ron gets off of him.  
  
"If you two EVER do that again, I will have to kill you. Understood?" He looks at both of us. We only grin at him, and his face suddenly relaxes. "Thanks. I needed that."  
  
The three of us settle into silence. It's almost like we're memorizing each other, and with a chill I realize that we are doing exactly that. The final battle will happen soon, and the chances of us surviving are nil. Ron and I, because we are Harry's friends, and Harry- well, just because he's Harry.  
  
"I'm going back down to the common room. I'll meet you two there," Harry says abruptly, and leaves the room. Ron looks at me, and the slow grin that I've come to learn means trouble slowly crosses his face. I look forward to this grin- I happen to enjoy Ron's brand of trouble. "You know you were undressing me with your eyes, Hermione?" He teases me. "I most certainly was not!" I exclaim. "I love it when something makes you mad. You blush." I look at him again, my eyes drawn on his sparkling face. I know that this could be our last chance to be together. I'm determined to take it. "Ron," I sigh, and look into his eyes. He holds his arms out, and I step into them. I can feel the strength in them as they wrap around me. My head rests on his shoulder, and I relax into his embrace. "It'll be OK, Hermione. Either way, we will be together, " he reassures me.  
  
"But how do we know? What happens if you die, if I die, and the other is left alone? What then?" I ask him, genuinely afraid. "We're soul mates, you and I. When one dies, so does the other. We will go to Summerlands together, or we'll stay here together. We are not going to be separated. After all, aren't you wearing my ring?" He smiles at me, lifting away my fears. My eyes drift down to the Celtic ring, its infinity knot telling me all I need to know. I remember his proposal under the tree last summer, and I give him a watery smile. I lift my head up for a kiss, and almost instantly feel his lips on mine. We start kissing frantically, as if this will be the last time we will love. Who knows, it may be. I have a feeling the final battle will be soon.  
  
My hands are all over him, and I make short work of his robes. He shrugs out of them, leaving them pooled on the floor. He's standing in front of me, only boxers covering his freckly, toned body. I move to take off my own robes, but he shakes his head. "I want to do it, love." He unclasps my robes, and I feel them slide down my shoulders and off my body. I'm standing in front of him in only my underwear, faintly embarrassed that it isn't anything special. I can see his eyes flare as he reaches for me. His big hands aren't even remotely clumsy as he undoes the delicate buttons in the back, and soon my underwear is no longer a concern, since it has joined his boxers on the floor. I cast an absent-minded locking charm, and we shut out the world. "Let it all go away for a while," I whisper as we fall into my bed. "It will, Hermione, it will," Ron promises me. He makes my name sound like an endearment.  
  
All too soon, we must end out isolation and meet the others back downstairs. It is my job to help Harry send the stragglers in the common room up to bed, and I can't do that if I'm sequestered up here. Much as I hate it, we have to get dressed and head back to reality. I look at Ron and smile, admiring him while he pulls his trousers back on. He catches me and smiles.  
  
"Lady, Hermione, if you keep looking at me like that we'll never make it back downstairs," he laughs.  
  
"I love you, Ron," I tell him quietly. Suddenly telling him that seems terribly urgent and important. "I love you too, bookworm," he answers me with his trademark grin. I swat him, he laughs, and hand in hand we head downstairs.  
  
One of the cozy armchairs near the fire is open, and Ron and I cuddle in it. The only people left are seventh years, so our emergence from upstairs was unnecessary. I feel a little wistful at that. Harry is again sitting by himself, staring into the fire.  
  
All of a sudden, a redheaded whirlwind comes dashing into the common room. It can only be Ginny. She flies like a homing beacon, straight towards Harry. Excitedly, she shows him something from a book.  
  
Oh, no. She found it. She must have, it was the only useful thing in that book. I know, I read it once. And then I hid it in the deepest depths of the restricted section, praying that no one would ever find it. For in it, there is a spell.  
  
I look at the hated book, knowing that the spell my friend has found will kill them both. Even if there was a way for them to survive the coming battle, their own spell will require so much energy that it will sap them, drain them, and kill them. There is nothing I can do about it.  
  
I try not to let my dismay show on my face. The look on both their faces is so intense that I can tell arguing would be a lost cause. They have already made their choices. I wish that they'd had more time to be together, to learn about the love that is written so plainly all over both their faces. They've only had three weeks, just twenty-one days. From the looks of things, they won't have much more.  
  
McGonagall just came in. It's happening. Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts, and we are right in the middle of it. All seventh years are going to the Great Hall. Everyone else is heading to the dungeons. Thank god. Maybe this will keep Ginny from sacrificing herself.  
  
I'm deluding myself and I know it. Shaking my head to clear it, I join my year mates. The eight of us line up behind McGonagall, Harry in the lead. Except for him in front and Neville at the rear, we are walking in twos. Ron and I, right behind Harry as we always will be. Parvati and Dean, looking grim but determined, are behind us. Seamus and Lavender followed them. As much as Harry, Ron, and I stuck together, so did those four. Neville floated, which was how he liked it.  
  
I don't want to think about what will happen in a few minutes. I resort to an old trick- reciting forgotten curses and unknown hexes. It calms me, and helps me focus for the task ahead. I don't want to use Unforgivables. I have a repertoire of unknowns already.  
  
We enter the great hall, and I see most of us already there. There are only three Slytherin seventh years left. I doubt very much that they will survive the fighting. Their old classmates are bound to attempt to kill them off first. Hufflepuffs- it looks like Hannah finally told Ernie she was pregnant. I wondered if she was even going to. It was an open secret in Herbology class, but all of the men were too dense to notice. Or perhaps they just had other things on their minds. Ah, yes, Madam Pomfrey is leading her away. She doesn't look like she wants to go. I can't blame her; they couldn't make me leave Ron. I drift to the Ravenclaws. Most are looking very nervous. While their intelligence will help them with the spells they need to know, I doubt that many of them know the practical side. If I wasn't friends with Harry, it wouldn't have been on my list of priorities either.  
  
I can hear the Death Eaters approaching. I know that the doors have been enchanted, since I was one of the ones working on them, but I really can't see them holding out for much longer. Too much is barraging against them. The teachers are standing guard on the doorways, and most of us already have our wands out. I'm shaking, but my mind is clear. We can't afford to lose this battle. It sounds melodramatic and trite, but it's true. We can't lose.  
  
My god, they haven't even breached the doors yet and already killing curses are flying. That one nearly hit Ron! But how did they know where to aim? Merlin, it must be the hair. They have to know that wherever he is, so is Harry. For the first time in my life, I'm glad to have my plain brown hair. Harry must notice what's happening at the same time I do. He shouts at us before launching himself into battle.  
  
"Ron, do something about you're hair! It's a walking target!"  
  
"Come here!" I shout, and pull him close.  
  
"Wear this! You need it!" I say, and cast a Glamour on his hair, making it the same shade as mine.  
  
I turn to Harry. His looks will make him easy to find. I start to cast another, but he shakes me off.  
  
"Save your energy for when you need it!" he says roughly, and dives into the fray.  
  
I don't have any time to think. Soon, I am battling with all the force I have behind me. I glimpse familiar faces all over the Hall, on both sides. I watch as Parvati and Dean fight, side by side. Padma is fighting on her sister's other side. My god, is that Victor with a Dark Mark? I don't have time to wonder why. He's now the enemy, that's what I have to focus on. I duck out of the way as a nasty severing hex comes flying my way. I glance over at Harry. He's letting off so much sheer power that he may survive this after all. Damn it, this is no time for wishful thinking. I turn my attention to the fight, but I am too late.  
  
It happens so fast I don't see it coming. A shrapnel curse hits the floor, and Parvati and Padma both slump and fall. I see Dean whip around, as if in slow motion, and kneel beside them. I look at him, and he shakes his head.  
  
They aren't the first casualties by any means. Bodies are littering the floor. I hear an inhuman screaming, and turn to face it. Neville is writhing on the ground, being driven insane by the pain of the Cruciatus curse. I see a gaunt man, and a gray woman holding their wands towards him. I aim, but I am too late. I watch helplessly as the boy I never really had time for in a flash of green light. I look up, blinded by rage, to see Harry looking at the scene as well.  
  
"Like mother, like son," I hear one of the slime snicker. Harry's eyes meet mine in complete agreement. We both shed what innocence we have left as we take our first lives.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" we both scream, and watch with great satisfaction as they fall. I hear a voice shout, "About time, Potter!" Apparently, many regard Harry as a leader. He dives back into the fighting, and I attempt to rejoin as well. It's no good, we're going to lose this battle unless something drastic happens. I shudder when I realize that our salvation will mean my best friends death. There is no other way- there are too many of them.  
  
My cheek feels strange.  
  
I reach up and touch it, and my fingers are red. Parvati's death replays in my mind- my cheek had burned for a moment. That must have been when it happened. I touch my face again, and find a small cut underneath my eye. Shaking my head, I keep fighting. It's almost pointless. So many of us are down already.  
  
I look around for Ron, almost automatically hunting for his bright red hair. I nearly go into a panic before I remember that I changed it. I look again, and see him very close to Harry. He takes out two more Death Eaters, catching one right before he threw a curse at Harry's back. I fight my way over to him, and grin.  
  
"Hell of a party we have going here, isn't it, love?" I comment. He smiles back at me before we go our separate ways again. Harry pops up beside me. He looks like a warrior, covered with dirt and sweat and other people's blood.  
  
He points at my cheek, mutely asking what happened. "Shrapnel curse." I shrug. It's not important. Remembering, I have to tell him. "Bastards have gotten Parvati and Padma." I see him look, and see black hair spread over blood soaked scarlet and blue robes.  
  
"Damn them to Hades!" he swears bitterly. We fight side by side for moments, and I realize that this is it. I avoid looking over at my blood brother, and snap out another curse. I know what he's thinking. He's got to be thinking the same thing I am. And I'm the closest person to send. Goddess, please don't ask me to deliver her to death! "Hermione, go get Ginny," he says it quickly, and I know he hates the idea even more then I do. Oh, no. But it's necessary.  
  
I must look confused. He explains, fast.  
  
"That book? It has the spell I'm going to use. She knows it, I don't. I need her." My face is an open book, and it gives away that I know.  
  
"You knew about the spell," he says calmly.  
  
"I knew. I hoped it wouldn't come to that." I shake my head, not wanting to accept the course of action that must be taken. "We have no time. Don't you dare die while I'm not watching your back, Potter," I say, knowing that he doesn't really have a choice.  
  
"I'll try." He shoots me a ghost of a grin, and then is off fighting again.  
  
I slip out a guarded door, motioning to Sinistra where I'm going. She nods, and a sad look crosses her eyes. She must know what is going to happen, and neither she nor I can do anything about it. It makes me feel sick.  
  
I quickly make my way down to the dungeons, and let myself through the small, little known passageways until I come to where the younger school is hiding. Even down here I can hear the screaming and sounds of battle being staged in the Great Hall.  
  
Ginny is in a corner, trying to keep the rest calm. She sees me from a long way off. No words are needed between us. She knows why I am here. She nods, as if confirming something to herself, and then stands. I give her instructions as we make our way upstairs.  
  
"We're losing. They've gotten most of the Hufflepuffs and over half the Ravenclaws. We still had five Gryffindors when I left. I don't know how many are left now. Unforgivables are necessary. Take them out quickly, and then move on." My voice is hard.  
  
I can see the shock on her face. She can't believe that I just told her to kill people. She will see, soon enough.  
  
As we get closer, she tries to dive straight into the fray. Almost instantly, a sickly green shot of light comes flying our way.  
  
"Are you insane?" I snarl, angry. "I didn't stop watching Harry's back just to have you killed the second you step out. Wait a minute." I cast glamour on her hair as well.  
  
"Well, shall we go rescue the men?" she asks, almost gaily.  
  
"I think so," I reply, and shoot a battle hardened grin at her. This will be the last time I can talk to my friend. I think she knows it, too.  
  
We wait a moment, and then we slip unnoticed into the fray.  
  
We make our way back up to Harry, and Ginny is making herself known. The sheer power of the stunning spells she's throwing out would equal most peoples killing curses. Someone will notice soon. She's moving far faster then I am, and I stop for a moment to wipe the blood off my face. She makes it to Harry before I do. My head snaps up as I hear her shout for Ron to duck.  
  
She is too late.  
  
Ron falls, splitting his head open on the hard floor.  
  
His eyes are vacant, life light flown. He is gone.  
  
I am still here.  
  
My pain filled eyes look up just in time to see the harsh orange light of the Cruciatus curse head straight for me. I don't bother to duck.  
  
It can't hurt more then I already do.  
  
I finally let the screams out, and my body is twitching. Ginny swings around, trying to find the person who is holding the curse on me. She couldn't know. I only caught a glimpse. Since Viktor is hiding, she won't find him.  
  
I'll be with Ron again soon.  
  
Finally, that sickly green light comes my way. I feel my soul be freed from my body, and everything is so bright.  
  
Many people are with me. I can see Ron, just a little ways ahead. I call his name, and he turns.  
  
"See Hermione, I told you we would always be together." He smiles at me.  
  
I regret not seeing the end of the battle. I lean, and look back at the mortal world. Harry and Ginny will join us soon. Lovingly, I shape their last energy into a Phoenix, and smile at the harsh screams being emitted by our foe. I see a red haired woman waiting, nod at her, and look up towards Ron. He takes my hand in his.  
  
Together, my love and I walk towards the Summerlands. 


	5. Phoenix Death

A/N- This is the second last chapter before I start the sequel. Ron is telling his story, his way. Even if he never sees the end.  
  
  
  
I guess we all knew that this day could come at any moment. We tried to live for every second, every new experience. I'm hoping still to have a hundred more. It is unlikely. I wanted to live long enough to make good on the promise Hermione's ring represents. It doesn't look like that will happen, now.  
  
I'm trying to keep my mind on the game and off my brooding, but I don't seem to be going a very good job. After all, when the Hogwarts' chess champ is in danger of being beaten by Neville, it's a pretty clear indication that something is amiss. I see Hermione coming up to me out of the corner of my eye. I can tell she's worried. After all, isn't a guy supposed to be able to read the emotions of the one that he loves?  
  
She hesitates, and the corners of her mouth curve a bit at the sight of me being so soundly beaten. She starts towards me again, smiles sweetly, congratulates Neville on his strategy, and pulls me away into a dark corner of the common room.  
  
Before I can speak, before I can ask her why those big cinnamon eyes of hers are even more serious then normal, she starts to talk.  
  
"We need to help Harry," She states seriously.  
  
I glance over to where my best mate sits staring at the fire. His scar is throbbing, and it stands out a livid red on his forehead. It's worse then normal and I have to wonder how he manages to live with the constant pain. I turn back to her.  
  
"I know. The question is, how? He won't stop blaming himself. We've tried everything from cajoling to screaming. He won't listen." Not that I haven't tried, night after night, to make him see sense. It won't work.  
  
"It's time to do something drastic. Can you hold him down?" I'm startled until I realize what she means.  
  
"I like the way you think, love. Go get out the potion, I'll bring him up to your room." Hermione had made a potion to numb the effects of localized tissue pain, as well as adding overall good health to the drinker. We've both been trying to cajole Harry into drinking some, but from the looks of the gleam in our resident bookworm's eyes, he just ran out of options.  
  
"Meet you there in five," she says, and gives me a quick kiss before running out of the room.  
  
I slowly walk over to where Harry is staring at the fire, ignoring Neville's frantic movements to rejoin him at the chessboard. He'll just have to be satisfied with winning by default. Since Harry is clearly dwelling on the upcoming battle, he and I start discussing tactics. I love tactics. If we get out of this, I'm going to become an Auror just so that I can use them every day.  
  
"If they go for an indoor assault, it's going to get dirty. We won't be able to fly, so we need to make sure we hit them fast and hard before flanking to take some small advantage of surprise." I can tell that he has been considering this all night.  
  
"Either that or we can just transfigure Voldie into a purple hippo," I say in a mock serious tone. I need to know just how attentive he is.  
  
"That might work. If.. Hey, Ron, did you just say what I think you said?" Harry looked at me like I'd grown tentacles from my face.  
  
"What was that?" I ask him innocently.  
  
"Transfigure. oh, never mind. What does Hermione need?" He finally realizes where we are heading.  
  
"Just to spend some time with each other. We haven't really in a while." I try to keep any ulterior motives from the surface. I don't want Harry thinking that we've betrayed him, or something. It's also true- since Hermione and I became an item Harry has been spending progressively less time with us. While we're still termed the Trinity, I think he's been feeling like a third wheel lately.  
  
I casually lead him into Hermione's room, laughing as he pauses at the door long enough to call "Are you decent?"  
  
"Perfectly!" My love calls back to him, and he cautiously enters the room. When he is fully inside and the door is shut behind him, Hermione raises one eyebrow at me. I can almost here her impatient "Well, what are you waiting for?"  
  
I tackle Harry and hold him down as Hermione advances with the potion. I have his hands pinned above his head, but if looks could kill I wouldn't have the battle with Voldemort to deal with. I'd be dead already.  
  
"Damn it, I told you two I'm fine!" he swears loudly.  
  
"Of course you are. That's why you flinch every time there's a loud noise," I yell right back at him.  
  
"Or bright light, or come to think of it, really anything out of the ordinary at all," Hermione comments with her typical sarcastic edge.  
  
"Face it, Harry. You are drinking this potion, and you have no say," She says with no small amount of satisfaction. Harry looks at her with a mutinous expression, and presses his lips closed.  
  
"Oh, please," I sigh, annoyed at my friend for being so childish. I reach over with my other hand and plug Harry's nose. As soon as he opens his mouth to breathe, Hermione pours the potion down the back of his throat. Almost instantly, the distended scar becomes smooth, and Harry's face is no longer drawn. I quickly get off of him, not really knowing if he has plans to clock me or not.  
  
"If you two EVER do that again, I will have to kill you. Understood?" He looks at both of us. We only grin at him, and his face suddenly relaxes. "Thanks. I needed that."  
  
We lapse into silence, and I take the chance to study my friends. The three of us have been together since first year. If anyone had told me the on the first morning before I left for Hogwarts that things would turn out like this, I would have called them barmy and found them a room at St. Mungo's. Hermione, my fiancee and soul mate. Harry, my blood brother and best friend. I look at Harry first, wanting to memorize what he looks like. This is quite possibly one of the last times I will see him alive.  
  
I turn to Hermione, and see that she is studying me, the pink tinge to her cheeks telling me all I need to know. She doesn't blush without a good reason. She must be undressing me in her mind again. My ego fluffs up a bit as I think about it. I still can't believe that she said yes.  
  
"I'm going back down to the common room. I'll meet you two there," Harry couldn't help noticing the new tension in the room, I suppose. He's remarkably perceptive when it comes to that. Neither of us goes after him as he slips out the door.  
  
I turn to my lady and grin slowly. "You know you were undressing me with your eyes, Hermione?" I tease her happily.  
  
"I most certainly was not!" A blush starts to creep up her face.  
  
"I love it when something makes you mad. You blush." She laughs, and the color that infuses her face only makes her more beautiful to me.  
  
"Ron," I hear her sigh, and am lost in her eyes.  
  
I hold my arms out to her, sensing that she needs to be held. She steps into the embrace, and rests her head on my chest.  
  
"It'll be OK, Hermione. Either way, we will be together, " I try to reassure her.  
  
"But how do we know? What happens if you die, if I die, and the other is left alone? What then?" Her question tears me apart. It can't happen. It won't happen. I try to reason it out to her.  
  
"We're soul mates, you and I. When one dies, so does the other. We will go to Summerlands together, or we'll stay here together. We are not going to be separated. After all, aren't you wearing my ring?" I smile at her hopefully, wondering if she can tell that I don't know, that I don't have all the answers no matter how much I want them. She doesn't seem to care. She gives me a teary smile, and I hold her a little tighter.  
  
When I look down, she is looking up at me. My lips meet hers, and we start kissing with a desperation that we have only felt once before. That was on the night that Harry read us the letters.  
  
She reaches up, and removes my robes with the ease of long practice. She moves to start on her own, but I still her with a gesture.  
  
"I want to do it, love." I gently undo the clasp, and her robes slide deliciously over her shoulders and down her back, baring her almost completely.  
  
She looks so innocent, almost virginal in her plain white underwear. I slide them off of her as well, and we are both standing as naked as the day we were born. She steps into my arms once again, and I hear her use her last bit of sanity to cast a locking charm on the door. I smile; even Dumbledore won't know the counter charm to that one. It's a spell of her own making.  
  
"Let it all go away for a while," I hear her whisper, longingly.  
  
"It will, Hermione, it will," I promise her all I can, her name like honey on my tongue. With that, we shut out the world.  
  
Far, far too soon, we must emerge from our heavenly cocoon and get ready to head back downstairs. Hermione has Head Girl duties to attend to, and I refuse to let her go anywhere on her own at the moment. I don't want to let her out of my sight for a minute. We start to get dressed again, and I notice her staring at me with a faraway look in her eyes.  
  
"Lady, Hermione, if you keep looking at me like that we'll never make it back downstairs," I say, not knowing whether I'm completely serious or not. She blushes a bit, but then a cloud passes over her face.  
  
"I love you, Ron," She tells me, and I can hear both the commitment and the desperation in her voice. She knows what we are about to face as well as I do. I don't want to even consider the fact that I might lose her, so I try to lighten the mood.  
  
"I love you too, bookworm." I answer her with a silly grin on my face. The swat that follows is not entirely unexpected. We both laugh, pretending that everything is all right, and head back downstairs hand in hand.  
  
I notice that one of the larger armchairs by the fire is empty, and I pull Hermione over to it. Since there are no stragglers left, we didn't really have to come down. I want to make up for the loss in cuddle time, so we both cram ourselves into the chair, and snuggle. No words are spoken. None are needed.  
  
I'm startled as Ginny comes barreling into the common room, hair flying. She has several large, heavy books in her arms, and they go flying as she sees Harry on the couch. She stops, picks one in particular up off the floor, and I see her head over to him with it.  
  
I fell Hermione go still on my lap, the hand that was casually stroking mine stops. I look at her, and see fear, resignation and despair on her face. I want to ask her what is in that book, but I'm not so sure I want to know. I'll find out soon enough, whether I want to know or not.  
  
I decide to leave it, comforting Hermione by stroking her hair, and watching the intense discussion taking place between my best friend and my baby sister. The slow, almost feral grin that spreads first across one face, and then the other, makes me very uneasy. I definitely don't want to know. A brother is better off not knowing the details.  
  
My mind is quickly taken off the occupants of the couch when Professor McGonagall comes striding into the common room. I would dearly love to find out where, exactly, the other entrance to the common room is. I have a funny feeling it may be straight from the teacher's wing. The look on her face is deadly serious. This can't be good. One look at Harry confirms my suspicions. It's time. I lean back, my love in my arms, to listen to McGonagall. She has already roused all members of the House, and the younger years have assembled. Her voice is still strong, still even, though I can detect a slight tremor in it as she begins to speak.  
  
"It is my grave duty to inform you that Lord Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and several species of Dark Creatures are assembling as we speak to attack Hogwarts. Several lives were given to pass this information. We must now put into place the contingency plans that were drawn up for this occasion.  
  
Miss Ginny Weasley is our designated Head Girl for next year. As such, it will be her responsibility to lead all students in sixth year and below to our hidden dungeon, and her duty along with our designated Head Boy to keep everyone calm until we have routed this evil from our castle.  
  
All Seventh years are asked to assist the teachers in the fight. I will not lie to you. We are sadly outnumbered, and without you we stand very little chance of winning. You are Gryffindors, known for your bravery. I hope that you will see fit to join the fight. If you do not, I ask that you join the younger students in the dungeons."  
  
She stops speaking, and Harry, Hermione and I are among the first to stand. I can not see any Gryffindor backing down from what we perceive as our duty, and I am not disillusioned. The eight seventh years stand, and we all take a couple private moments before we must separate. I can see Harry and Ginny bidding each other goodbye. I turn to Hermione and kiss her soundly, knowing this may be my last chance. We look into each other's eyes, and no more time can be spent. When we separate, we are still holding hands. This war has made us grow up quickly.  
  
We line up behind Harry, our natural leader. He stands alone in front of Hermione and I. This is how it should be- the two of us watching his back while we do what needs to be done. All my fear has drained out of me, leaving me sharper. I feel a lost sense of might-have-been, but I push it away. There is no time for regrets.  
  
I can hear her beside me, trying to remember every curse and hex she's ever read or heard about. I squeeze her hand as I recognize the distraction tactic.  
  
We've finally hit the Great Hall. Everyone else is practically assembled, and I realize that McGonagall's speech to us was a little more involved then everyone else's. I have a flashback to the Muggle lessons Hermione gave me last summer, and I can just see Sprout galloping through the Hufflepuff den yelling "The Death Eaters are coming! The Death Eaters are coming!" The thought makes me smile a bit. Hey, black humor is better then none at all.  
  
Madam Pomfrey is leading one of the Hufflepuff girls away. Wonder why? Ernie looks a bit put out, but that may be because he doesn't want her out of his sight. I know I'd feel the same way if someone made Hermione leave.  
  
The noise outside the hall is getting louder, which can mean only one thing. The battle is eminent, and will be happening even sooner then I thought. Harry is twitching occasionally, but it seems as though it's merely an itch that he'd love to scratch. It's a good thing that we fed him that potion. He'd have been out cold if he were still feeling everything that scar was throwing at him.  
  
They haven't even gotten through the doors yet when the first killing curses come flying through. I throw myself out of the way of one, as another goes whistling by my ear. I can feel the white hot heat as it misses me and hits the wall. How do they know where I am already? I dodge again, and then I hear Harry's yell.  
  
"Ron, do something about you're hair! It's a walking target!" My hair! He's right, that must be it! Feeling stupid, I start to rip a piece off one of my robes to wrap around my head.  
  
"Come here!" I hear Hermione shout.  
  
"Wear this! You need it!" she tells me firmly, and before I can blink, she's cast a Glamour that will last until she tells it not to. I can see her wilt fractionally, and know that it took more out of her then she'll admit, even to herself.  
  
I smile at her even as she turns to do the same to Harry, who pushes her off. He, too, knows the amount of energy needed to cast a spell so strong. He'll protect us when we let him.  
  
I turn reluctantly away, and begin the pattern that Harry and I devised so long ago in the common room. We had used it primarily as a way out of doing our divination homework again. We never expected to actually have to use it.  
  
I slowly make my way over to the first member of Voldemort's inner circle I see, and begin a circle pattern around the room. Harry is fighting inside the circle, clearing out the lower level filth while attempting to save his energy for the final confrontation- the one against Voldemort. Hermione is fighting in tandem with Harry, locating threats and neutralizing them before they can truly mount an attack. I hate the fact that I'm not at Harry's back, and whip around in surprise when I hear the killing curse uttered in two very familiar voices. I see Hermione, blood running down her face, swooping over to talk to a grimly satisfied Harry. No time for distractions! I throw a killing curse now as well, and flashes of sickly green light are starting to be seen even more frequently. How many of our own are being killed by 'friendly' curses? There is no way to tell. I spin to catch Nott in the side with a severing hex. I feel ill as I see his intestines start to spill out of his stomach, and I cast another killing curse, this time almost out of pity.  
  
There are so many of them! I throw a wooden splinter from one of the tables through a vampire. He turns to dust, but Susan Bone's lifeless and bloodless body falls to the floor. Again, I turn away. I was just a little too late, and it cost a life. I can't let that happen again!  
  
I begin to fight with everything I have or ever will be. I want my life together with Hermione, living with her, loving her, maybe having a couple of little bookworms to complete the picture. That won't happen if she or I are killed, or if Voldemort wins. I grow still fiercer as I remember my sister in the dungeons. Even if I don't survive, she must. She has already suffered more at Tom Riddle's hands then most of us. I glimpse Harry moving his way through the crowd at such a pace I feel as though I need to remind him to save his energy. I catch a Death Eater attempting to fire at Harry's back, kill him, and stun another before seeing Hermione heading on my direction. She fights her way over to me, and I feast on the sight of her. Her blood makes me ache, but at least she's alive. At least she's alive. She grins at me, and the sheer ferocity in that grin give me pause. I continue to stare wordlessly at her, drinking in the sigt. What seems like several minutes must only be a few seconds. She looks back at me. "Hell of a party we have going here, isn't it, love?" She comments wryly. I smile back at her, and we must separate. What little advantage we have must be kept, and that means keeping the three of us separate, and less of a target. We know that and accept it. I keep slugging through, no longer bothering with stunners except on my old classmates. I can not bring myself to kill anyone that I knew, or that I was once friends with.  
  
Then a flash of white blonde catches my eye. Draco Malfoy. I raise my wand almost gleefully to perform the killing curse, and win this last fight with my enemy. A little voice echoes in the back of my head and I pause. My wand drops to my side. He doesn't see me, he's too busy attempting to control Blaise Zabini.  
  
Is a schoolboy rivalry worth another person's life? If it was anyone else, would I merely stun him, or would I kill them? With great reluctance, I raise my wand once more. But the incantation is not 'Avada Kedavra.' I shout "Stupefy", and he falls to the ground. Lucius' head whips up, and he sees Draco fall to the floor. I don't think he realize that Draco is merely stunned, not dead.  
  
He launches himself at me, and I start to fight. It is a struggle, he's forgotten about his wand and is attacking me full force, his pointy fists battering at me. While I may be larger then he is, I have far less experience. Then, amazingly, I hear another voice I recognize shout the killing curse- its Ginny. She shouldn't be here! I ignore the body of my combatant as it falls to the floor next to his son. I look around, see where she is standing and run over there. The fact that she is next to Harry does nothing to calm me, even as I can see Hermione making her way towards us.  
  
"Ginny? What in Hades do you think that you're doing? You should be staying safe!"  
  
"Farathoom, Ron, do you really think that I can stay safe while my friends are all dying?" I scream back.  
  
I'm so angry that she would risk herself, so scared for the sister I've sworn to protect, I don't realize what the sudden horror in her eyes means.  
  
"Duck, Ron! Duck!" I hear her scream. I realize too late that I have done the unforgivable- I let Malfoy live. I feel a white-hot slicing in my stomach, and it spreads to my entire body in an instant. All of a sudden, I am floating. I hear screaming, but it comes from far away. Hermione- where is Hermione? I promised her that we would be together. I search the cloudy state I am in, and know that she is not yet here. No. I can't have left her alone. I have to go back! I look down towards the battle I have only just left. Harry and Ginny are glowing, emitting more power then I have ever seen. A body with curly brown hair lies on the ground. But that can't be her- she would be here, wouldn't she?  
  
I look frantically around, noting the many people all strolling towards the Summerlands. I see Dean, Parvati. Neville. Then I hear the most wonderful thing- her voice is calling my name. I turn around, and she comes running up to me. I take her hand, and smile at her.  
  
"See Hermione? I told you we would always be together."  
  
I want to see the end, all though I know that Harry and Ginny will be with us soon. I wait as Hermione shapes the last of their energy. Then, we turn and walk towards the light together. 


	6. Phoenix Rebirth

**Chapter Five: Phoenix Rebirth**

"Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts."

The quiet words stop my blood in my veins. It can't be true. Hogwarts is supposed to be safe, a haven. It's not a target for the most evil dark wizard since Grindlewald. My baby brother and sister are there. Surely they'll be all right. 

I look over at Charlie, and see the same look of horror on his face that must be on mine. Ron and Ginny are trapped, and we can't get there fast enough. Fred and George are here too, and I have never seen their faces so serious. Even Percy has lost the pompous look he normally wears like a second skin. We have reason to be worried.

Not only are Ron and Ginny there, but so is Harry, and Hermione, and others we have all come to care for in the time that has passed. Bloody hell, has it really only been seven years since I got a letter from an over-excited baby brother, telling me that Harry Potter was his new best mate? I almost regret that, now. Just being a Weasley would have made him a target. As Harry's best friend, he'll be a prime target. I can only hope that the teachers will keep Ginny out of it. They need the seventh years, but Ginny, while powerful, is only in her sixth year. She doesn't know enough. And being Harry's girlfriend, she's prime Death Eater fodder. 

I can't stand all this speculating. We are being given instructions, told to Apparate to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds and fight our way in. There are over six hundred of us, many with family trapped in the school. We could turn the tide. I only hope we can get there before everyone else is dead.

I look at my brothers and nod. We will be in the first assault. If anyone can get through, it will be us. We all swore when our sister was born that we would protect her. I know Ron is doing his best.

We arrive in one group, even Charlie hitting the correct apparition point. Ordinarily, one of us would have teased him about it, but this isn't ordinary. Two of us are in trouble. Charlie, Percy and I start to move towards the castle, but Fred and George shake their heads at the same time. Even when they aren't trying, those two think alike.

"We need to be sneaky. We can take the passage through Honeydukes. We'll end up in the castle with no problems. Even Wormtail couldn't divulge the location of it, since Sirius memory charmed him," George said with a grimace. That memory charm was what cost Harry's godfather his life.

"Good plan. We'll follow." Charlie looked like he wanted to argue with me, but surprisingly, it was Percy who decided it for us.

"You know the passages better then any of us. I never thought I would be grateful for all that trouble you two got up to, but I am now. Lead on." The fact that Fred and George don't even rib Percy on their way to the front of the pack shows me how nervous they are.

Slowly, we make our way through the door, and down the passageway. Already, we can hear screaming and cries. We pulled ourselves through the one-eyed witch. A cry that sounded scarily like Ginny echoed through the walls and up four flights of stairs. 

"Duck, Ron, duck!" I stopped walking, my legs locking. The rest also seem to be struck by momentary immobility. Then, a screaming that could only be Hermione, a horrible loud lamenting that shook me to the core, filled the air. Abrupt silence cut the cry off, and we all surge forward. People are dying, had already died. And we are still too far away. The battle noises have stopped.

The silence is more terrifying then the noises of battle. I know that I have just heard my baby brother die, and that I am too late to save him. I motion for Charlie and I to take the main doors, Percy to grab the back, and Fred and George to go to the side. They obey.

With a deep breath, I look into the battleground.

My goddess, my goddess! I will never forget this sight as long as I live. All activity has stopped. Everyone has paused, and is watching the scene unfold. I can tell that it is almost over. Ginny, our little Ginny, is standing in front of Harry, leaning against him with her wand held on Voldemort. Her red hair is fanning out in the magical breeze, and her beautiful face is still with peace and concentration. She and Harry are both glowing, the sheer energy they're putting off keeping them rooted firmly to the ground. I chance a glance around, and note the gruesome carpet of young bodies on the floor. Among them is Weasley red, and my heart shakes when I see the still form of Ron contorted on the ground, his hair rusty from blood. There are others, but a small cry brings my attention back to the scene being created. 

The whimper is coming from the other side of the hall. I search the upright faces, and I see who made it. Who in Merlin's name let our mother in here? She's going to watch another of her babies die!

I watch helplessly as my sister drains out her life energy, desperately attempting to vanquish the evil that has dominated our lives these past years. Incredibly, she turns her face to Charlie and I. In my head, I hear her calling. I know that she will be all right, and so I try to send an answer back. I'll never know if it reaches her.

In that final moment, the last energy shapes suddenly and miraculously into a phoenix, the symbol of rebirth. As Ginny and Harry drop to the ground, their bodies intertwined, Voldemort lets out a blood-curdling scream of pain, and dissolves into dust. He is finally defeated. 

The rest of the reinforcements have joined us, and so I feel warranted on running to the five square meter area that holds the bodies of not one, but four people I have loved. Have loved- putting it into past tense makes me feel ill. The look on Ron's face is resigned, and I can almost feel his relief at not living without Hermione. I think he knew this was the way that it had to be. 

I hold his battered body, and the memories hit me like a flood. I barely notice Percy going to comfort mother, or Charlie joining me. Instead, I remember my littlest brother.

************

"Bills, why do you always hafta go away? Don't you love us anymore?" His chubby cheeks were tear-streaked, his blue eyes brimming.

"I need to learn stuff. If I didn't learn to fly, I couldn't take you up on my broom, now could I?" I hated leaving him, my baby brother.

"I guess not. Will you write me letters? Ones just for me, not for Ginny too?"

"I can do that, Squirt. I can do that."

************

He was the one who left this time. And I know that he isn't ever coming back. He can't write me letters anymore. Carefully, I put his body back on the ground, gently closing his lifeless eyes and straightening out his limbs. I fold him arms across his chest, and smooth his blood soaked hair. I wish my mother didn't have to see him like this.

Leaving Charlie to look over Ron, I move on to Ginny. She is still entwined with Harry, a lifeless angel. When I look at her, I don't see the messy, loose red locks that now frame her face and spread across the floor. I see small red pigtails, and big trusting brown eyes. I can't believe that the baby that held my hand so trustingly is now this beautiful, senseless corpse. 

************ 

"Bills, where do we go when we die?" Her small face looked at me, expecting me to have all the answers. The little grave from our pet puffskein had been still fresh, as were the hexes that Ginny had somehow wandlessly cast on the twins. She looked wistfully at the little pile of earth, her pigtails bobbing. 

"Well, some people think we go to the Summerlands," I had said awkwardly, not really knowing how to comfort her.

"Oh. Can we come back from there?" she asked me as she eyes the mound again. 

"No, munchkin. But we can wait until the others that we care about come too, before coming back to earth as a different person."

"But I don't want to be a different person. I want to be me. Virgina Marie Weasley." Her eyes, those big brown eyes, had begged me to tell her differently.

"You'll always be Ginny to me," I tell her, and swing her up for a piggyback ride.

Her laughter had echoed on the breeze.

************ 

I stroke her now limp hair, and tear trails run down my cheeks as I remember our long ago conversation. Are you waiting for me up there, Gin? Will you be there when I get there?

Slowly, I detach her from Harry, and hold her slowly cooling body to mine. Her eyes are already tightly shut, and she has a triumphant smile on her face. I look up to see the tears flowing freely down my remaining brothers' faces. I know we have to move on. We must take up the torch.

I'll see you in the Summerlands, my little brother and sister. Wait for me. I may be awhile. I have to avenge you first.

The End


End file.
